GAME REPORT

Nadezhda Dodge A Bullet To Down Torun

There was relief for Nadezhda Orenburg Region after they shrugged off a third-quarter collapse to initiate a late lockdown of Energa Torun and claim a dramatic 65-63 EuroLeague Women Group B success.

With nothing between the teams at the interval and the game locked up at 37-37, fans were then treated to a couple of monumental momentum swings.

Fans in Orenburg firstly looked on in despair as the local favourites allowed a buoyant Torun to score the first 17 points of the half, with Tijana Ajdukovic putting the competition newcomers 54-37 ahead.

It looked as if it had put them out of sight, but the visitors went into meltdown as Nadezhda hauled themselves back into contention.

They found real impetus when Anna Cruz opened the final quarter with a big triple and that sparked a 13-2 burst.

Greek national team forward Zoi Dimitrakou levelled the scores at 58-58, prior to Russian center Natalia Vieru then putting Nadezhda in front.

It set up a nerve-shredding finale and there was drama when Aleksandra Pawlak hit a three-pointer for Torun with 24 seconds remaining to get them within a point.

But, Dewanna Bonner made a free throw and then blocked Amanda Jackson on the last possession to seal the game.

COACH QUOTES

Quotes: Nadezhda Orenburg Region vs. Energa Torun

George Dikeoulakos, Nadezhda Head Coach"I believe, today is not a day for congratulations but to go to a church, light the candle and say "Thanks, God". The first and third quarter of the game were the ugliest I have ever seen in my life. In such situations the most important thing is to keep confidence and concentration and find your game. But today our team were in panic and that influenced the game a lot. I believe we will make right conclusions and improve. And despite of everything, the players deserve congratulations as it is rather hard to come back from 17 points down."

Natalia Zhedik, Nadezhda"First of all, my congratulations for winning! We knew the game wouldn't be an easy one and we were preparing for it. The opponent played really good. Lots of things didn't work out for us. We are very happy that we managed to overcome the difference and find our game. And on behalf of the team I apologise that we put our fans in such a stress. We will try to avoid repetition of this in the future."

Elmedin Omanic, Energa Torun Head Coach"It was a tough fight tonight. My congratulations to the team of Nadezhda. I believe Nadezhda and Fenerbahce are among the strongest teams in our group. I'm happy we managed to go so far in the game. Our goal in EuroLeague Women as newcomers is to win two to three games. We are a young team and this is a very important experience for us."

Tijana Ajdukovic, Energa Torun"My congratulations to our opponents! We play good, I think, but we lost some important balls at the end of the game. We let them get closer and made several mistakes which made us lose the game."

COACH QUOTES

Quotes: Nadezhda Orenburg Region vs. Energa Torun

George Dikeoulakos, Nadezhda Head Coach"I believe, today is not a day for congratulations but to go to a church, light the candle and say "Thanks, God". The first and third quarter of the game were the ugliest I have ever seen in my life. In such situations the most important thing is to keep confidence and concentration and find your game. But today our team were in panic and that influenced the game a lot. I believe we will make right conclusions and improve. And despite of everything, the players deserve congratulations as it is rather hard to come back from 17 points down."

Natalia Zhedik, Nadezhda"First of all, my congratulations for winning! We knew the game wouldn't be an easy one and we were preparing for it. The opponent played really good. Lots of things didn't work out for us. We are very happy that we managed to overcome the difference and find our game. And on behalf of the team I apologise that we put our fans in such a stress. We will try to avoid repetition of this in the future."

Elmedin Omanic, Energa Torun Head Coach"It was a tough fight tonight. My congratulations to the team of Nadezhda. I believe Nadezhda and Fenerbahce are among the strongest teams in our group. I'm happy we managed to go so far in the game. Our goal in EuroLeague Women as newcomers is to win two to three games. We are a young team and this is a very important experience for us."

Tijana Ajdukovic, Energa Torun"My congratulations to our opponents! We play good, I think, but we lost some important balls at the end of the game. We let them get closer and made several mistakes which made us lose the game."